The start of each day featured a hearty breakfast at the hotel.
It's a good thing we don't eat like this every day - we could never walk
it all off! Jerry made
sure to get his minimum daily requirement of salt.

Walking tour of Stockholm. The weather was a LOT nicer than we had
expected. It was a good thing that we each brought at least one pair of shorts!
Next time, we'll bring more layers (and less fleece).

Jerry managed to keep up with the group, despite
the strap-on "boot" that he wore. He needed the support after a couple
of ankle-replacement surgeries. We're just really fortunate that he was
able to come on this trip, since the ankle problems could have a severe
effect on his mobility. We knew that there would be a lot of walking on
a Rick Steves trip. After awhile, we got used to hearing Jerry's
cheerful "clomp, clomp" coming up behind us. Or sometimes in front.

Dave led us to the Old City of Gamla Stan. There
was something interesting around every corner. Here, he shows us a rune
stone on the side of a building. He narrated the rather gruesome history
of the central square (the Stortorget). In the 1500s, a Danish king
beheaded the local noblemen here. The street ran with blood, which is
said to reappear on rainy days. In our history lesson du jour, we
learned that this led to the end of the Kalmar Union. We heard a lot
more about the Kalmar Union later in the trip, when we headed to Kalmar.

Narrow passageways

A ferry took us across the harbor to the Vasa Museum. Some members of
the group couldn't wait for the next potty break, and spent a few kroner
on a pay facility (once they figured out how to open the thing).

A nice day for a walk!

The
Vasa Museum was one of the highlights of the
trip. The Vasa was a warship that sank about 20 minutes into her maiden
voyage in 1628. It was raised from the harbor in 1961. We saw the actual
ship, which was extremely well-preserved. Each intricate carving was
intact, except for the original paint. We peered into the gun ports,
where water had poured into the doomed vessel. This boat was gigantic! It
must have been a spectacular sight to see it heeling over and then
settling onto the floor of the harbor. Reportedly, there were many extra
passengers on board that day, as well as a large audience lining the
shore. Many of the artifacts from the ship were recovered and put on
display at the museum. Fascinating.

Click on the picture to
learn more about the Vasa. For some reason, it doesn't always go to the
English page, but you can click on "English" (or any other language) at
the top of the Vasa page.

A free afternoon took us to Skansen, a renowned
open-air folk museum. It would have taken the entire day to see
the whole place. It was a Disneyland of Scandinavian history, complete
with costumed guides demonstrating various crafts and other activities.
We dodged a few raindrops before the sun came out again. As happened on
a number of occasions on this trip, groups of us ran into each other and
ended up having lunch together.

There
was a great rush to try to get on one of the boats that toured the
harbor and canals. The
Stockholm Card gave us free passage on
numerous tours and attractions. We lucked out by getting on a boat that was just leaving.
There were headphones to hear the guided tour in one of many languages.
One great thing about the Scandinavian countries was that just about
everyone speaks English. Although Dave labored mightily to teach us the
nuances of Swedish versus Norwegian (and never mind Danish!), we all got
by just fine with the language skills that we brought with us.

It was a long day. There was a LOT of stuff to
see. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the
Saluhall, a covered
market that had fish, produce, and some more exotic offerings. Stepping
back outside, the good weather just astonished us. The weather forecast
had been for temperatures of 60° or less. It was a lot warmer than that.
Scandinavian hotels don't seem to think of air conditioning. Good thing
that the windows open!

Dinners were
an adventure. We sort of expected to see nothing but fish and maybe
reindeer sausage on the menu. It was a pleasant surprise to find that
Scandinavian cuisine embraced a wide array of options. Mmmmm, I'm
getting hungry just thinking about it ...